Let 'em Eat Chains
In response to the letter of Melissa and Rex Hargrove [Oct. 11 Incoming], it has come to my attention through the reading of the Metro Pulse publication that you are uninformed. I read that you think we are not doing what you want.
You are correct to state that people [in Afghanistan] are starving, but this is mostly due to ongoing internal strife in the region. The United States sent over 170 million of our hard-earned tax dollars to the poor country that saw fit to repay us with the deaths of over 5,000 innocent citizens—the very citizens paying the taxes to provide the aid you say they so desperately need.
This year along with the bombs that I already think we will send too few of, we will send $320 million in aid that should go to our children and our education systems here in the U.S. I would like nothing more than to eliminate the aid to Afghanistan's people; it would kill 2 birds with one stone. There would be no need to bomb, as we are the largest giver of aid to that country in the world already. The famine by the U.S. stopping relief would be devastating.
It is my opinion that all of you people who think that peace is a commodity that America burns like a rainforest whenever it gets a chance are misinformed. The rest of the world doesn't like us for a lot of reasons, most of them linked to your lifestyle or the freedom to live it. So be careful what you wish for or, even better go there try to be Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish or Agnostic. They stone people for that there.
In final rebuttal to your "not in my name" statement, you are right. It is not in your name, it's in my name and the other 91 percent of the population. It's called Democracy! It is the view of the majority of the people in this country that this is being done. Just be thankful that not being a member of it doesn't get you killed here.
Richard Scott Bruce
Knoxville
Buns v. Gutter
I wonder how Melissa & Rex [Oct. 11 Incoming] would have felt if they or one of their own was in one of the four aircraft or WTC towers on September 11. It is these so called do-gooders who want all the bread and butter but don't want to pay for it.
They make me "sick." How do they think we have gotten all the freedoms we have. Not sitting idly by while some idiot pervert destroys us behind the mask of religion. If Rex and Melissa don't like what they see here, there is no fence around the United States. Tell her to go live with the "Taliban" and see how they treat women. It's dumbasses like them that the enemy feeds on.
Billy Whitson
Knoxville
Not So Fast
Your Ear to the Ground column [Oct. 11] characterized the League of Women Voters as endorsing a living wage. This is not accurate. The League has not studied the living wage issue and has no position on the current campaign in Knoxville.
We have provided information to our members on the fact that a living wage campaign is underway in Knoxville and advised them of the specific wage level being sought, so they will be prepared to voice their personal opinions should the new City Council choose to discuss the issue.
We welcome Mayor Ashe to the League, and we encourage all men and women interested in current issues to join our study and discussion process. Visit our website at www.korrnet.org/lwv for information on League activities and membership.
Judy Poulson, president
League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County
Keep It Up
We want to thank you for your excellent article in the Oct. 4 issue on our East Tennessee neighbors of the Muslim faith and those of Arab and Middle Eastern roots.
Joe Tarr's article is a sensitive and informative portrayal of these individuals in the context of their lives and extended families and also in the context of the histories of their homelands and U.S. foreign policy.
Please keep up this helpful type of coverage of how the current national crisis affects us locally
Richard & Lucy Henighan
Seymour
Vaya con Punk Rock
Longtime Metro Pulse freelance writer John Sewell has blown this 'ville called Knox and moved on to the Windy City to pursue his rock 'n' roll fantasy. While John to this day remains something of an enigma to us, part acid-tongued punk and part soulful Renaissance man, there is no questioning his numerous contributions to this weekly rag and to the local music scene over the years (with bands including Kidsnack and Torture Kitty). His work at MP captured why music mattered to him, and to anyone, and carried the same passion as his live performances. We wish John the best of luck on his new odyssey—and remind him to write home every now and again. And, uh, John? The check's in the mail.
Cor(hic)rection
The article about Lynchburg, Tenn. in last week's issue gave the incorrect proportions of the ingredients in the recipe for making Jack Daniel's. The correct proportions are: 80 percent corn, 12 percent barley and 8 percent rye. Anything else would be un-American.
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